Two-Tone Triangle Trees

Environmental Chemist Keith Mulvihill -- known as "Uncle Santa" in Allentown, Pennsylvania, his hometown -- bakes these festive red-and-green-spiral cookies for his nieces and nephews every holiday season. Keith says they gobble down half the cookies and leave the rest out on a table with milk to share with the real Santa.

Total Time: 1:30

Cook: 0:12

Level:
Moderate

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Ingredients

2.50 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

0.25 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

0.75 c. margarine

1 large egg

1.25 tsp. vanilla extract

0.25 tsp. almond extract

0.25 c. red maraschino cherries

6 drop red food coloring

0.25 c. green maraschino cherries

6 drop Green food coloring

12 stick sticks black licorice

Directions

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar with margarine or butter until blended. Increase speed to high, beat until creamy, about 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla and almond extracts. Add flour mixture, beat just until blended (dough will be crumbly). With floured hands, gather dough and knead a few times in bowl until smooth.

Divide dough in half. Place each half in separate self-sealing plastic bags. To one bag, add red maraschino cherries and enough red food coloring to tint it a pale red, to other bag, add green maraschino cherries and enough green food coloring to tint it a pale green. Knead bags until evenly blended.

Remove red dough from bag and divide in half, repeat with green dough. Wrap and refrigerate half of each.

Roll half of red dough between lightly floured sheets of waxed paper into 12-inch by 5 1/2-inch rectangle. Peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Roll half of green dough between lightly floured sheets of waxed paper into 11 1/2-inch by 5-inch rectangle.

Peel off top sheet of paper and invert green dough onto red dough. Peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Starting from a long side, use bottom sheet of waxed paper to help roll doughs together, jelly-roll fashion.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange some licorice pieces, about 2 inches apart, on large cookie sheet. Trim about 3/4 inch off each end of one dough log, cut log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices on cookie sheet, pressing bottom of each slice onto a licorice piece to form a Christmas tree with a trunk.